


Behind the mask

by BlueDrea



Category: Jessica Jones (TV), Loki (Marvel) - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Emotional Manipulation, Eventual Romance, Evil Loki, F/M, Falling In Love, Infinity Gems, Infinity War never happened, Kidnapping, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Mind Control, Pop Culture, Possessive Loki (Marvel), Protective Bucky Barnes, SHIELD, Secret Relationship, Stockholm Syndrome, Telepathy, Then not so evil Loki, Threats of Violence, cursing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-06-18 18:50:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15492384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueDrea/pseuds/BlueDrea
Summary: Aria Buchanan, 21, was just a scientist. A telepath scientist maybe, but clearly not someone of importance, even if working at the Avengers compound with no other than Dr Bruce Banner. But for a man, a strangely handsome dark man named Loki, she meant a lot, and was the key for his plan to work.*In this story, Infinity War never happened and Loki and Thor were separated when the Asgardian ship crashed on Earth after Ragnarok. Thor thought (again) Loki to be dead during the crash.*





	1. The Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone!  
> This is my first fanfiction ever, I hope you'll enjoy it! I had this idea in mind since a long time and I am finally happy to make a fanfic out of it! English is not my mother tongue as you may notice through reading but I hope that you will like anyway :)  
> Please comment to let me know what you think about it!  
> Enjoy!
> 
> *Italic text means that it is what Aria thinks at the moment*

All around Aria was chaos. People were sprinting down the streets of Manhattan while alien-like monsters where firing at them. Tears were running free down her eyes as she was next to her little brother. There was blood everywhere on his little skinny chest and she was trying to find where the wound was. Her hands became bloody, then her arms when, in her panic, she could not find the hemorrhage of the six years old boy.

‘’Jake… Jake wake up!’’ she said, her voice shaky, seeing that the boy had now his eyes closed.

Something exploded next to her and her body was thrown meters away. She screamed, letting out all she had concealed during the last hour of this _total mess_ that had become New York City.

One of the alien approached her, and she saw an opportunity. It was an absolutely dumb idea, but her instinct and clearly not her mind was behind it. It was too bold and excessively violent for the fourteen years old that she was. She stood up, looked at the monster’s unhuman eyes and put two fingers to the side of her forehead.

‘’Shoot yourself,’’ she said, quietly, with a stone face.

There was a shot. The creature was dead.

_\------------------_

**_7 years later_ **

Since 6 months, everything was better than it has ever been for Aria. In May, she had finished her PhD in neuroscience and, finally, she was doing something with her life, something with more meaning than binge studying since she was in age to go to school. She has always been one of those kind of weird kids obsessed with grades. Now she was 21, amongst the youngest people on earth to get a doctorate degree, and working in the Avengers compound’s lab with Dr. Bruce Banner doing nothing less but _discovering the secrets of the human brain_ , as he himself said when he asked her to work with him.

 _«Discovering the secrets of the human brains… »_ that looked kind of silly said like that for Aria, but that was actually what she said when friends asked what she was doing for a living.

It was her fifth month at the lab with Dr. Banner and, every day, she could not help but examine all of surroundings as if she had not seen them the day before. Everything was white, but still kind of warm, if that is even possible. Pieces of the most expensive technologies in the world were spread all around the fifty-meter square lab. Bruce was a nicer man than all of the lab partners she ever had. Sweet, gentle and comforting, he came to be a kind of big bro figure to her. She felt at home there.

As she entered the lab, she saw her friend Bruce greeting her with a smile.

‘’Hey, good morning Aria.’’

‘’Good morning Bruce! What are we up to today?’’ she said, enthusiastic.

Bruce seemed a little nervous this morning. He even seemed agitated and had shifty eyes. _Why is he acting so weird?_

‘’Well, as we have finished our last article, I suggest you a new project. But you can refuse. Know that you can always refuse. I know a study like that can be scary an I don’t want to put pressure on you as I offered you this job and-‘’

‘’Calm down, what are you talking about? Just explain to me!’’

Bruce was not like this usually. He normally seemed confident about what he was doing and now it was… the complete opposite.

‘’It is about, Vision… and your powers… ‘’he said, hesitant looking at Aria’s reaction.

Aria hated having those so-called powers. For her, they were just another thing that made her different from every other being on the planet. And a weapon. A deadly and extremely dangerous weapon that should be used under no circumstances… if she did not want shit like two years ago to happen again… Mind reading and mind control seem harmless but Bruce has no idea. Aria did not even know that Bruce knew of her abilities. She wanted that part of her life to be free from all this. _SHIELD probably learned it at some point and told him. Those people know everything. I hope he did not hired me just so I could be his science experiment, oh god…_

‘’No,’’ she said

She got to her computer and sat on the chair in front of it in a futile way to escape Bruce. He got to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

‘’What ? Just no ? You do not want any explanation? Don’t you wanna realize how your gifts could save lives?’’

He was suddenly putting way more pressure Aria could not help but laugh.

‘’How do you even know about me and my abilities?’’ I asked curious and still angry.

‘’SHIELD has-‘’

‘’Ok, do not go further I KNEW IT, freaking SHIELD…’’

A third voice, a voice Aria had heard a few times already for having work with it, entered the conversation:

‘’I am sure you would like to know more about it Aria,’’ he said calmly, contrasting with the conversation Bruce and I were having.

‘’Oh well, go ahead then, explain how you would like to open my skull to see what is inside and then expose it over a wall,’’ she said, hoping that they would understand that, at this point, she was sarcastic.

None of them laughed or smiled. They looked at her then gave each other a glance.

‘’Listen closely. We simply want to-‘’

Boom.

A man had literally fell from the ceiling. All looks where suddenly on this strange man lying down from nowhere with dark long hair and some kind of weird leathery coat, if it is a coat.  He groaned and then slowly tried stood up.

‘’Run. Both of you,’’ said Bruce. His face looked like he suddenly realized something.

Whoever this man was, Bruce obviously feared him. Bruce was pale and became all shaky in a matter of seconds.

The man suddenly talked, his voice smooth and velvety, with a hint of a British accent.

‘’Oh no…’’ he said with a chuckle. ‘’Nobody is going away right now…’’

He rose his head and first looked at Bruce. As Bruce was becoming green, in a swift movement, the stranger put his palm on his forehead and the almost Hulked Bruce fell unconscious.

_What._

The man then looked at Aria, but quickly turned to Vision. Aria took a few steps behind, relieved not to get the same fate as Bruce but still wanting to help in case of need.

A blue blade materialized in the man’s hand. Vision tried to hit him, but with some other magic power, he kept him paralyzed in the middle of his movement.

‘’Now we will get to business hmm?‘’ the mad man said while approaching his dagger of Vision forehead.

 _The mind stone. He wants the mind stone._ Bruce often talked to Aria about the Avengers and she knew that that glowing rock in Vision’s head had somehow its importance. _It will kill him. I have to stop him._ It was two years ago that Aria had last used her abilities. Now was the time.

She put the two fingers at her forehead and pronounced a few words.

‘’Stop and go back to where you are from,’’ she simply said to the man, who was dressed in green and black leather.

To her surprise, he did not get the usual hypnotized eyes her victims usually got from her mind control. He simply turned his head to see her and spoke.

‘’Trying to mind control me, mortal?’’ he said, then evilly laughed.

Aria had somehow distract him with her futile attempt, because Vision got out of his paralysis, hit the man, and flew through the doors lab while the man was still recovering.

_My time to go too._

Aria ran to the exit, but the tall man grabbed her from behind with his blade at her neck and his other arm around her chest.

‘’Mind controller are not frequent these days, he said whispering in her ear, his voice dark. Why don’t you come with me hmm? A mind controller, an Avenger at my service, wouldn’t it be nice?’’

Aria, in panic, could not talk. She never learned self-defense or anything like that. She just struggled inefficiently while he seemed to have fun.

‘’Oh dear, I did not know avengers were that easy to kidnap, I would have done it earlier.’’

_He thinks I am an avenger. Fuck._

She felt her head hitting something and everything came black.


	2. A dude straight outta Harry Potter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

_In the last chapter…_

‘’Oh dear, I did not know avengers were that easy to kidnap, I would have done it earlier.’’

_He thinks I am an avenger. Fuck._

She felt her head hitting something and everything came black.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Aria woke up from some weird sleep in what feels like hours later. The last thing she could remember was this strange man and his dagger at her neck.

_Was it a dream?_

Deep inside her, she knew that everything happened too realistically. She felt fear more than she ever had in any kind of dream. Slowly opening her eyes, she tried to sit up and felt groggy and sore. _Wow, this guy apparently knocked me out so hard I feel like I am hung-over._

She looked at her surroundings and saw a small room with white walls and some furniture. There was a small bookshelf, a nailed shut window, and, in a corner, a desk and a small table with two chairs. She was on a queen-sized bed with white sheets, next to the wall. One door was at her right, another one on her left. She did not feel like a prisoner until she tried to stand up from the bed and found herself attached from the wrist to a bed pole.

_I am definitely a hostage._

_It is an experience like any other I guess._

She lied back on the bed and sighed.

_So this guy, this magic/evil/green guy, thinks I am an Avenger and probably wants a ransom in exchange of my life. It would have been smart if I were more than just a scientist. Oh, poor guy._

_My best move is probably to tell him that I am someone of importance, as he already thinks. Otherwise, he could kill me, seeing that I ain’t worth much. Or sell me to some evil scientists waning to decapitate me to see what a telepath’s mind looks like._

The door on her right opened and magic-dude entered. Aria took more time to examine him and saw that he was sickly pale and had dark purple circles under his blue eyes. He had high cheekbones and was tall, maybe 6 feet 2. He slowly approached her, his eyes locked with hers and his face tensed.

‘’Are you feeling well, mortal?’’ he asked.

_Why would he even care about my well-being…_

‘’Oh, I feel ok, I guess, if we forgot the fact that I am being held against my will and recovering from the concussion you gave me earlier.’’

He rose his eyebrows, surprised by Aria’s stubbornness. She was surprised even herself, wondering where all this bold courage was from.

‘’Listen closely mortal…’’

_This guy definitely has a superiority complex or a narcissist personality. I mean, «mortal»? Really? Is he Dracula or some shit like that?_

‘’…Your puny self-called heroes team has something that belongs to me. After careful consideration, I decided that you will help me in that.’’

_So I am not a ransom. Wow, so nice of him not to sell me. Or perhaps I will help him by being a ransom for him._

‘’So you want the shiny thing in Vision’s forehead? Do you really believe that I can really help you in that?‘’

He laughed and looked at the floor, as if he found Aria completely dumb.

‘’I do, in fact, want back the mind stone, also the space stone. I have seen your poor fighting techniques, and, oh no, I will not make you fight,’’ he said in a way Aria found extremely condescending. ‘’But you fortunately have the ability to mind control people… ‘’

Seeing that Aria did not respond, he continued:

‘’I did not know that mind controllers were to be found on Midgard, but here we are and it is an extremely fortunate surprise to have found you.’’

‘’Aren’t you a mind controller too? You blocked me when I tried to see your mind,’’ she asked.

‘’I am a mind reader, not a mind controller. Mind control is something quite unique… Usually only magical objects have this ability, and they can’t do it for a long time, but you… you seem to have an infinite potential.’’

 _How can he expect me to want to work with him against people like Bruce and Vision? Especially when getting what he wants includes, well, I think, killing Vision._ She made a move to stand up, to feel less small next to him, but her cuffed hand, which she had forgotten about prevented her to do so.

‘’Uncuff me right now,’’ she said, wanting to sound authoritarian.

‘’Oh, my dear, you are not the one giving orders right now,’’ he said, after a chuckle.

He circled the bed, like a predator preparing to attack a prey, his eyes on her. He was observing her from his towering height, a curled hand in front of his mouth.

_Oh lord, this is too much I wanna be out of here, I WANNA BE OUT OF HERE._

‘’Stop screaming, pet,’’ he said with a grin.

_Oh yeah I forgot. Magic-dude can read minds._

He chuckled at that last thought. _IF I WANT TO SCREAM IN MY MIND, YOU WON’T STOP ME EVIL GREEN SORCERER, OK._

‘’I am not evil, mortal,’’ he said turning around.

‘’WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE FOR CALLING ME MORTAL? WHAT ARE YOU? A FUCKING TWILIGHT VAMPIRE MAYBE? ‘’

At this point, Aria was exhausted of this man and his manners. Pet, mortal, my dear…  At her surprise, the man looked at her in confusion.

‘’You _really_ don’t know who I am?’’ he asked

‘’OH SO YOU THINK EVERYBODY KNOWS YOU, BECAUSE YOU’RE SO IMPORTANT YOU SELFISH BAST-‘’

He was probably bored hearing Aria screaming because he suddenly pinned her against the wall, a hand on her throat, and cut her respiration. His long fingers were sinking in her throat like knives, setting fire to her lungs and trachea. Her panicked hands were over his, trying to make him let go from his grip. _Did he untie me to do that? Could I get an opportunity to escape?_ She glanced at the door at her right, but the man was a step ahead, thanks to his mind reading ability.

‘’No escape, sweet girl. This door is locked. I am Loki of Asgard, puny mortal.’’

_Oh._

_OH._

‘’And I won’t let myself be bullied by a mewling Midgardian!’’ he said while increasing his grisp, then letting her throat go out of a sudden and letting her slide down the wall, panting. She looked up at him, tears of pain in her eyes.

Aria remembered what Bruce told her, months ago, about this alien being who was responsible of the events of New York. It was classified information, but Bruce could not help but chat about his life traumas.

_This person, or should I say … monster… was the one who… the responsible of all those death 7 years ago… the monster who destroyed a part of New York City, trying to enslave human race. The one who … killed Jake…_

‘’I know you,’’ Aria said, trying to stand up, still not quitting his gaze.

He kicked her in a stomach, not a powerful hit, but still one that was going to make her bruised and she fell back on the floor.

‘’I know you know me, human, I read your thoughts.’’

He got his blue blade out of his coat, bended over Aria and put it over her stomach.

‘’And know that I have not killed your brother,’’ he said.

‘’Maybe I could believe you more if you were not hitting me or threatening me with that knife.’’

He looked at her, looked at his knife, like pondering, and then stood up. He presented her a hand to help her stand up.

_How dare he._

She spat in his hand and immediately regretted her choice. Loki’s face became red and all of his body tensed. He took her arm, put her back on the bed and a green mist appeared around both of Aria’s wrists making her tied to both of the bed poles in an extremely uncomfortable position. Her ties were tighter and she could not move a bit her arms.

‘’You are going to spend the night thinking about the proposition of helping me and then, tomorrow morning, we are going to act in consequences of your choices,’’ he said, his voice full of threats.

_If you would stop being such an arrogant brat people would hate you less._

If he had heard the remark in her mind, he seemed to ignore her.

He went to the door where he came from and stopped.

‘’And what’s your name dear?’’ He asked, nonchalantly.

‘’Just read my mind, dumbass,’’ she said, still in deep anger.

‘’You, humans, have those silly expressions,’’ he said, laughing quietly.

He looked at me one last time, like truly seeing her for the first time not as an enemy and said :

‘’Good night, Aria Josephine Buchanan.’’


	3. McDonald's, cuffs and dead people

_In the last chapter…_

‘’I do, in fact, want back the mind stone, also the space stone. I have seen your poor fighting techniques, and, oh no, I will not make you fight,’’ he said in a way Aria found extremely condescending. ‘’But you fortunately have to ability to mind control people… ‘’

[…]

He looked at me one last time, like truly seeing her for the first time not as an enemy and said :

‘’Good night, Aria Josephine Buchanan.’’

* * *

 

The night was long and uncomfortable. Her neck hurt horribly. If Aria did sleep, it was maybe for half an hour. She thought about her situation, she wondered if Bruce had woken up from his unconsciousness, or if Vision had alerted the other Avengers that Loki was after them. The few times Bruce talked to her about Loki, he always finished by saying that he died years ago and that it was for the best. _How can he be alive?_ To Bruce sayings, Loki was a truly horrible man; a sadistic green violent psychopath murdering people for fun. That was a bit too harsh for what she had seen yesterday, in her opinion. She would reduce Bruce’s quote to ``green violent psychopath``, so yeah still an asshole, but an asshole that did not kill her, nor Bruce, or torture her.

The plan she had concocted during the night was simple: accept Loki’s proposition and boom suddenly switch teams at the good moment. Maybe a little bit too simple for someone who had a Doctorate but that was all she could come up with now.

The major problem with the plan was that Loki could read his mind while she could not. _If he can block me, there should be a way I can block as I am a telepath too?..._

_\------------------_

**_The Avengers compound – 10 AM_ **

‘’Are you telling me that you let this girl, this scientist girl with no self-defense course or else, the same girl who has telepathic powers that could be an asset to some evil mastermind, alone with Loki?’’ Tony Stark said, obviously furious.

‘’I had to prioritize the mind stone Tony,’’ responded Vision, calm.

Bruce was watching both of the men who stood face to face while he was sitting on a chair in Tony’s office. Tony had found him in the lab a half an hour ago and he had woken up a few minutes after.

‘’You mean that having a rock on your forehead stopped you from doing ANYTHING to help this civilian?‘’ Tony continued.

He seemed in a foul mood and truly angry. He continued his monologue before anyone could speak:

‘’And, now that she has disappeared, what do we do, Vision? Should we not let her where she is because our infinity stones are way too precious too even take the responsibility of our acts?’’

Tony looked at Vision, observing its reaction, but he was looking at the floor, like a child being grounded.

‘’Bruce, assemble a few of our people, we will find that girl and bring her back home.’’ Stark finally said.

_\------------------_

Loki came back in Aria’s room (or cell like she now calls it) a few hours later, probably in the morning. Aria had no way of knowing what time it was due to the absence of sunlight, but her stomach had started growling like it was her usual breakfast time.

He came in with the scent of breakfast food as he put, more like threw, a brown paper bag on the bedside table. She suddenly felt the bounds around her wrists disappear and she sighed in relief.

‘’Eat,’’ he said with a stern face.

Aria took the bag obediently and noticed something written on the side. ‘’McDonald’s ‘’ was spelled. Aria could not help but burst out laughing. She always laughed in the worst situations when she was tired. And this whole situation had definitely got her tired and stressed.

‘’What’s so funny mortal ?’’ he asked, like he was offended.

‘’It’s just that… haha… HAHAHAHA…’’

_Did this dude really scare me yesterday ?  HAHAHAH!_

He seemed completely exasperated by her, which made her laugh even harder.

‘’By the Norns,’’ Loki muttered, and then sighed.

‘’The thing is that, (taking her breath back in) I just imagined you casually going to the McDonald’s and asking for a breakfast in your weird attire, trying to pay with your money, and, and, HAHAHAHAHA!’’

‘’I just teleported the food with magic, he said, still looking like he was searching for what was funny.’’

Aria’s laugh slowly faded as Loki looked at her with his eyebrows frowned, like he was truly preoccupied by her mental health.

She opened the bag to find a cup of hulled grain with a spoon and an orange juice.

‘’You can stand up and sit at the table to eat,’’ said Loki.

She did so and he sat in front of her. She started eating as he was still looking at her, looking like he was trying to kill her with his glare.

_I know what he is trying to do._

_He wants to know what I am thinking about his plan. He wants to read my mind. But it won’t work._

Aria followed her instinct and freed her mind from all kind of thoughts. She imagined a wall, a big great wall, just like the one in Game of Thrones, to keep him from entering her mind. _Will it even do something?_

Loki’s face suddenly changed and tensed as he put his two hands on the table with a loud sound.

‘’You are blocking me!’’ he said, angry.

_Oh. It worked well apparently._

‘’I want my thoughts to stay private,’’ she responded, imitating him and slamming both of my hands on the table, in mockery.

He looked at Aria during a few seconds, like judging what would be the best to do.

‘’How did you even learn to block telepathy in, what, 8 hours?’’ Loki asked.

‘’I don’t know, I just followed my instinct and it worked-‘’

‘’It does not simply ‘’work’’ the first time you try ! You need skills, and practice,’’ he said.

She stayed mute, not knowing what to say. She continued eating her hulled grain while they were quiet for a few minutes.

‘’What are your thoughts on helping me?’’ he said, out of the blue.

She stayed quiet thinking, thinking about the plan she concocted earlier, but still blocking his telepathy with her Game of Thrones wall. _He will suspect something if I comply to him too easily, I have to make up something fast._

‘’You said that theses stones that you want, they used to belong to you. But I mean, they are _infinity_ stones, do they really belong to someone?  Do they really belong to you, some alien who claim he is a god ? Don’t they belong exclusively to the universe ? I think the concept of property is erroneous in this case don’t you?’’ Aria said, her tone full of arrogance.

‘’You think yourself smart mortal?’’ he said standing up.

 _Maybe I went a bit far_.

‘’The … _concept of property_ has nothing to do with all this! I need these stones, and you will help me retrieving them!’’ Loki said.

‘’How do you expect me to return against my friends and my allies for some murderous psychopath like you?’’

_I should stop calling him names._

‘’You had a little brother, didn’t you?’’ he asked, still calm even after the insult.

‘’In fact, I had a whole family, but, whoops, mom and dad dead when I was 16 and, whoops, little brother dead when I was 14, killed by no one but your little alien slaves,’’ she said.

_In some way, I am lucky that none of my family is alive. Otherwise, he could have threatened to kill them._

‘’You loved your little brother dearly. That is admirable. This was not exactly the case with Thor,’’ he said, like he did not listen too anything Aria had just said.

‘’What? Maybe you did not like Thor, but he loved you, and he mourned during weeks after he thought that you were dead!’’

In fact, Aria talked to Thor a few times, and, each time, he talked about Loki and how he _died a hero._

Again, Loki did not seem to listen to what Aria said and continued his monologue.

‘’Would you help me, if I told you I had a way to make your little brother Jake come back to life?’’ Loki said, observing her reaction.

She looked back at him, her mouth shut, not wanting to let the flow insults out. _How dare he insult the memory of Jake?_

‘’Because I do have a way,’’ he said, sketching a grin.

Loki started to explain to Aria, that, if she helped him into successfully getting back the infinity stones, he would revive Jake and let her free. That was a smart move from Loki, who knew that, this way, she would put her heart into the mission and not only be there because she was threatened.

_There is way to have my brother back. There is a way to see little Jackie again._

Aria did not even thought about how Loki could have the power to bring people back to life. When he said that Jake could be in her life again, she was already all hope and dreams and ready for everything.


	4. Star Wars makes everything better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and other Avengers appear in the next chapter!  
> Please leave a comment to let me know your opinion! :)

_In the last chapter…_

_There is way to have my brother back. There is a way to see little Jackie again._

Aria did not even thought about how Loki could have the power to bring people back to life. When he said that Jake could be in her life again, she was already all hope and dreams and ready for everything.

* * *

 

**_1 week later_ **

Loki and Aria had moved from their shelter (which was an abandoned house he told her later) two days after she willingly agreed to help him. They were now strangely near from the Avengers compound, about 500 meters away, in and old shack. Loki had knocked off the owner and kept him in a coma state. He thought that being this near from the infinity stones would greatly help and that the Avengers would not think about searching just next to their home.

While Loki spent his time making up a plan to get the stones, Aria had difficult times and many attacks of conscience. _Is it really worth it? Is it really worth it to harm people in order to get someone that is already dead back? Oh god what I am doing with him…_

Aria remembered the first time she went working at Bruce’s lab. He made her sign a contract saying that she would never disclose any kind of private information she could hear about the Avengers while she was at the compound. She remembered that, when signing it, she felt honored to be someone trustable enough to be told classified information. She had, in fact, met most of the Avengers members in private parties that Bruce invited her to or when they were just visiting Bruce at the lab. She even came close to one of them. _It has only been a few months and I have already breached the damn contract._

Aria had shared all she knew about how the compound was built and what were the powers of each Avengers. _It really has to work. Otherwise, I will have done all of this for absolutely nothing._ Fortunately, Loki was nice with her. Well, maybe not nice considering the fact that he still called her mortal from time to time, but he was correct.

‘’Ok I have a plan, Aria,’’ Loki said, on the following Monday afternoon.

He usually did not call her Aria. He called her mortal, human or any other degrading name. Aria wondered if he started to respect her or something. In return, she decided to stop calling him Severus Snape, a nickname she had found quite appropriate seeing his long, slight and kind of lustrous black hair and seeing him acting like he was the dark lord of hell. He had no idea why she called him like that and she thought it was extremely amusing.

It was obviously a joke, because, after a few days with him, she found him quite more charming than how Bruce depicted him. _Maybe he has good intentions after all_. But something deep inside her was telling her that she was just trying to feel less guilty to betray her allies. She could not deny that she somehow came to like his smile. And his eyes. He had to those beautiful blue eyes that she could not take her eyes off when conversing with him. His voice. Hearing him talking was as listening to a poem, soothing. She felt, however, that something was broken within the man. 

She turned around from the desk on the wheeling chair she was on and said :

‘’What is your plan Sev… Loki?’’

_\------------------_

It was early evening when Loki had finished explaining everything to Aria. They were both now sitting on the  couch.

‘’Ok, she said. We will do that. For Jake.’’

Loki looked satisfied. Aria was still trying to convince herself that they were doing that for the best.

‘’I should start listing everything we have to do before executing your plan,’’ she said, taking from the desk a sheet of paper and a black pen.

‘’Maybe it will be easier with this’’ Loki said.

Aria looked at him and, unexpectedly, a small, thin laptop was resting in his hands, materialized from apparently nowhere. He handed it to her, and she was speechless.

‘’Hum… thank you?’’ she said, unsure and feeling uncomfortable.

_How did he know where to buy a computer? How did he even know that humans use computers? This guy is living in a place where you are sending ravens instead of emails._

_Hell, the computer even as wifi._

She sat back the couch next to him and opened it. It was brand new ; she even had to take off a protective film.

‘’You told me… you told me that your parents died when you were 16, didn’t you?’’ Loki said, hesitantly, as Aria was quietly tapping the list on the computer.

She stopped suddenly at his words and looked at him. His whole face seemed compassionate. It felt like he was not the same man she had encountered a week ago. The rings under his eyes were less marked and he seemed to have regained strength in the last few days. He was almost…

_This man is definitely handsome._

She loosened up and started opening a little bit to him.

‘’ Yes, I did,’’ she responded.

‘’What happened?’’ Loki said.

‘’Are you asking me this because you could revive them too?’’ she said, out of a sudden, full of hope.

‘’Ah, well, no,’’ he said, looking uncomfortable. ‘’I can only do it with great effort to people who have been killed by my allies, the Chitauri.’’

‘’ The Chitauri? They are a race of extraterrestrial beings?’’

‘’ Yes, yes they are.’’

‘’ How did you end up working with them?’’

‘’I asked you a question first, darling ** _._** ’’

Before meeting Loki, Aria did not like being called ‘’darling’’, ‘’honey’’, ‘’love’’ or anything like that. She thought that it was purely superficial, only something to show to people that you were an healthy couple. But now that he used these while they were just two people who had met a week ago, a man and a woman that he had at his service, she felt differently. Everything he pronounced of those names, she felt something deep inside her revive.

‘’If I answer your question, you have to answer mine.’’

‘’Deal,’’ Loki said smiling.

‘’As you know my brother was dead for two years just before they died. My parents were separated since a year at this moment. My mother was going through a mental breakdown since Jake was dead and I was already living by myself in an apartment in Manhattan. We wanted to meet, the three of us, and we had this brunch on a Sunday morning in a local restaurant. When it was time to go home, my mother proposed us to drive us back home. All went well as she drove me to my building, but something happened when she was alone in the car with my father. Maybe my mother was distracted, maybe worse but all I knew is that her car had fell into the Hudson River. They were both drowned.’’

Loki stayed silent and never left her gaze, as if he was waiting for her to do something. Maybe he waited for her to cry. _Maybe it would the most human thing to do._ It was a long time ago and Aria had learned to live with it. However, it was the first time she told the whole story. _It is not like anybody would ask ; they are all too scared for me to fall crying in their arms if they talk about my parents._ Even Bruce did not know.

Somehow, it made feel closer to Loki than she had ever to any person on Earth. She saw in his eyes that he understood her and that he had listened to her very closely.

‘’Now you have to tell me how you came to have the Chitauri as your allies,’’ Aria said.

‘’This is a story… quite dark. I am not sure if you really would like to hear it,’’ he said as he was stretching his arms and yawning.

‘’Oh, come on, I told you my dark story, you have to respect you promise.’’

‘’Ok, well, to make a long story short, I was given an army and in exchange I had to have the Earth under my control.’’ Loki finally said after a moment of silence.

_Did he just confessed that… he was not the responsible for the New York battle?_

‘’What? Wait, who gave you this army?’’

He was a little bit nervous when they had started talking about the Chitauri, but he became a total mess at that last question.

‘’Can’t you just be content with what I just told you, human?’’ he said, angrily.

‘’Ok, ok, sorry, I did not know that you did not wanted to talk about it, Loki’’ she responded.

He seemed to calm down when he saw how calm she was herself.

‘’Sorry’’ he said, simply.

_Wow. I did not know he had enough respect for humans to tell them he was sorry. What an improvement._

‘’Let’s do something fun’’ she said, wanting to lighten the mood.

She opened again the computer, as Loki looked at her, raising his eyebrows.

‘’Something fun?’’ he asked, in disbelief.

‘’Yeah, something fun!’’ she answered. ‘’We are going to watch a movie! To initiate you to the Earth popular culture.’’

‘’I am not sure if I want to be initiated the _Earth popular culture_.’’

‘’Oh, well, I am pretty sure that you won’t regret it, Loke. Anyway, there is nothing better to do here while waiting for tomorrow to prepare the plan.’’

‘’What did you just called me? _Loke_?’’ he said, surprised.

‘’What, you don’t like nicknames, Loke?’’ Aria said, laughing quietly.

‘’Just call me whatever you want, Jose’’ he responded, smirking mischievously.

_Jose ? JO-FUCKING-SE ?_

‘’Jose? As in Josephine, my middle name? Alright do what you want,’’ she said rolling her eyes. ‘’Anyway, it is time to start your initiation.’’

She took his silence as an agreement and she logged in her Netflix account. She finally stopped her choice on Star Wars Episode 4 and pressed play. She put the computer on the small table in front of them and leaned on the couch.

During the whole movie, Loki could not stop commenting _every single actions_ of the characters. ‘’Why would you do that?’’ ‘’I bet Luke father’s not dead.’’ ‘’Wow, I have never seen something like this.’’ Aria could not help but appreciate them, even if she told him to shut up every minute. They finished the movie and they decided to start Episode 5, as Loki really liked it, even if he pretended not to. ‘’If you wish to continue, we can watch the next one, Aria,’’ he said while he _clearly_ was impatiently waiting for the next one. They eventually ended up at Episode 6, but Aria felt sleep gaining her when Luke finally knew his true parentage.


	5. The best pancakes you will ever eat

_In the last chapter…_

It was early evening when Loki had finished explaining everything to Aria. They were both now sitting on the  couch.

‘’Ok, she said. We will do that. For Jake.’’

Loki looked satisfied. Aria was still trying to convince herself that they were doing that for the best.

[…]

They eventually ended up at Episode 6, but Aria felt sleep gaining her when Luke finally knew his true parentage.

 

* * *

 

_Why is there so much light in my room._

Aria half-opened her eyes as she slowly got used to the luminosity. She was emerging from a good night of sleep, a night more peaceful than she ever had during the last weeks.

_That’s because I am not in my room._

She stopped herself from jumping when she realized she has been sleeping next to Loki on the small couch in the living room of the shack. He was lying down and she had her head and her right hand resting on his chest, which was peacefully going up and down, following the rhythm of his breathing.

_How did this happened? We fell asleep at the same moment, and, out of sudden, we were lying almost like we were cuddling?_

Aria’s mind was thinking fast, but she realized that she felt good having him at her side. She felt soothed and almost… protected. _Which is totally stupid because this ‘’protector’’ kidnapped me and hurt me only one week ago._

She stayed there, both eyes opened, not wanting Loki to wake up. Even if she had difficulties to admit it, she wished to keep the closeness she had with him as long as possible. She must have moved a little bit, because Loki seemed to wake and moved his hand to her head. He started to stroke her hair slowly, almost lovingly.

They stayed like this for a few minutes, before Aria started to feel uncomfortable. _While Bruce is probably searching for me, what am I doing? Oh, just lying comfortably in the arms of my abductor._ She made a move to stand up, but Loki grabbed her hand weakly.

‘’Stay,’’ said Loki, his voice still a bit sleepy.

She stood up, ignoring his request, but still felt a pinch at her heart when her hand quitted his.

_This is definitely a conflict of interests._

She went to the kitchenette to prepare breakfast while Loki seemed to fall back asleep.

_\------------------_

Two days later, it was D-Day. Everything was prepared to steal successfully both infinity gems the Avengers had in their possession. During those two days, Aria and Loki kept working and did not even talk about the night they slept so close to each other. They barely talked and went in their respective rooms early in the evening.

Soon in the morning of this very day, Aria woke up agitated. Her sleep had not been recovering at all, but she anyway stood up from the bed.

_Maybe today is the day I will see Jake again._

Gaining energy, she showered in a hurry and, later, found Loki in the kitchen, apparently trying to cook something. There was smoke everywhere and Aria wondered why the fire alarm was not ringing. Loki’s hand was on the handle of a pan and he was looking at what was inside, his eyebrows frowned.

‘’Oh my god, Loke, what are you even trying to do?’’ Aria said, stopping herself from laughing of his poor attempt at making food.

‘’Pancakes, I am making pancakes,’’ he said while coughing and trying to make the smoke go away with his hand.

If she would have had her phone, she would have take a picture for sure. The thought of him trying to make pancakes was simply absurdly funny.

She approached, took the pan from him, and shut the fire while laughing uncontrollably.

‘’Couldn’t you simply make pancakes appear from nowhere?’’ Aria said smiling at Loki.

He smiled in return. ‘’Well, I simply decided that I wanted to cook this morning. I found a recipe on the computer and I could not help it. Don’t you think these pancakes look delicious?’’ he said, half-smiling, while pointing at the brown half-baked mess in the pan.

They continued smiling at each other, before they burst out laughing at the same time. Aria felt a warm, fuzzy feeling in her stomach as she heard him laughing. _Kinda of funny how I imagined this guy as a monster incapable of joy before meeting him. He is just like everybody else, in the end. He has secrets, some things make him angrier than others, he likes to have fun and he wants… he wants to be loved._ She had just realized that.

Aria and Loki did not left each other gaze. Bright blue eyes into her grey ones.

‘’You look beautiful in the morning, with those little curls in your hair,’’ said Loki, as he took tenderly a strand of her hair after taking a step towards her.

They were really close. _Dangerously close._

She said nothing as she could not stop herself from slowly put her hand on the side of his neck.

At the loving act, Loki pulled her into a kiss, a passionate and bruising kiss. Aria put both of her arms around his neck as Loki had still a hand in her hair and the other on her hip. As their tongues intertwined, Loki pushed her against the wall. They continued the kiss until they both had to breathe. It was the hottest kiss Aria ever had. It was full of sexual tension and she wondered if he wanted to go further. Because she did.

Loki backed away from her a little bit and they looked at each other like questioning what just happened.

 _In fact, what just happened? What the fuck am I doing? Kissing him? Really? Like some teenage girl falling for the bad boy? This guy has tricked me into helping him and now I’m… I’m his whore?_ Aria moved away from Loki, afraid of what she was willing just seconds ago to become.

He looked at Aria, frowning and his eyes questioning.

‘’You are not my whore, Aria!’’ he said, tensing.

_Oh, fuck. I forgot to block his mind reading with my Game of Thrones wall. The whole thing had distracted me. Did I make him angry? Again?_

‘’I’m sorry, I- I shouldn’t have done that,’’ Aria said, walking again a few steps away from him.

He looked at her, his face questioning, like he did not understand what she said. Then, suddenly, his face changed and he seemed to go from a naïve little boy to a man who felt disgust towards her. Aria did not know that someone’s facial expressions could hurt that much. He turned away and started to clean up his mess.

‘’We are going to the Avengers compound in 20 minutes’’ Loki said, his voice emotionless. ‘’Be ready.’’

_This kiss was a mistake. I don’t want it to happen again and he seems to share my opinion. That’s perfect._

Her reason was telling her to conceal any kind of feeling she could have towards Loki. She could not afford having relationship or whatever it could be with him if she wanted to go back to a normal life after he would have revived Jake. _This man is murderer. This man is dangerous. I can’t let myself be hurt by him._

_\------------------_

Loki and Aria were walking through the forest to get the Avengers compound. None of them talked and they walked quietly for about 100 meters before they both heard something, or rather someone, behind them. Low voices talking casually could be heard at a distance, maybe two or three people, Aria estimated. She met Loki’s gaze, and she followed him as he started running across the forest. _Who are those people behind us? Have we been followed?_ Loki was running fast, and she had difficulties to follow his pace, but he stopped suddenly and Aria bumped into him. She fell to the ground while he stayed in place. ‘’Ouch,’’ she said, as she realized she had hurt her elbow. _Why did he stop?_

She looked in the same direction Loki was looking and she had her response. Thor. Thor was in front of them, blocking the way. He seemed angry at his brother. Aria noticed he did not have any kind of weapon but she was still not reassured.

The few people that were behind them finally reached them and they could finally noticed their identity. There were Bruce, Tony Stark in his Iron Man suit and Bucky. _Oh no, come on guys._

They arrived and also stopped when they saw Loki. They seemed surprised, their mouth half-opened like they did not know what to say. Then they saw Aria, still lying on the ground. Bucky made a move to help  her, but Loki was faster.

He suddenly grabbed Aria by one arm and raised her to his level. He pulled a knife from his coat and put it to her throat, holding her back next to his chest. ‘’Time for plan B,’’ he whispered in her ear, so she could be the only one to hear. Aria saw that Bucky seemed to notice the interaction, but nothing indicated that he understood.

In fact, plan B was the alternative Loki and Aria had elaborated only the night before. If an unforeseen problem was to happen during the robbery, Aria was going to be handed back to the Avengers, but still be Loki’s ally. On his side, he would escape and find another shelter. She would be her spy inside the compound and they would communicate by telepathy. She had this strange small green Asgardian bracelet given by Loki the night before that would permit them to talk telepathically no matter the distance between them.

‘’Loki, let the girl go,’’ Thor said firmly to his brother.

‘’We are too much, even for you, Reindeer Games,’’ added Tony.

Loki looked at Thor, then at Tony and Aria felt the knife on her throat fade away. He had teleported. _God, I wish I could disappear just like that._

As soon as Loki was gone, Bucky ran to her, soon followed by Bruce.

‘’Are you ok Aria?’’ asked Bucky, cupping her face. She tensed when is hand touched her face, as if she felt repulsion toward his contact. _What is happening with me?_ Bucky noticed it, frowned and took a step back while Bruce checked on her stained with blood elbow.

‘’Yes, yes, I believe so.’’ She finally said.


	6. OMFG, I CALLED THE POLICE!

_In the last chapter…_

‘’Loki, let the girl go,’’ Thor said firmly to his brother.

‘’We are too much, even for you, Reindeer Games,’’ added Tony.

Loki looked at Thor, then at Tony and Aria felt the knife on her throat fade away. He had teleported.

[…]

* * *

 

Thor, Bruce, Bucky, Tony and Aria were back at the compound a few minutes later, after they walked the 400 meters separating them from it. Aria just wanted to take a shower and try to talk to Loki back at her apartment, but Tony had different ideas in mind.

They had just entered the compound that Tony called upon her.

‘’Aria, in my office, now,’’ He said, firmly, like he wanted business to be done fast.

_Can’t he just let me go home?_

Bucky seemed upset by Stark request. He went to Aria, put a hand over her shoulder and pleaded her cause :

‘’Come on, Stark, I understand you want to know about Loki, but don’t you think you should let her at least a few hours to recover?’’

‘’I totally agree, Stark,’’ Thor added. ‘’She needs time. Being taken as a hostage by my brother can be quite a traumatic experience.

Tony looked at both of them, then sighed.

‘’Okay, but at least I want to tell you one thing Aria,’’ Tony said sternly, looking to her. ‘’From now, you will be living her, in the compound.’’ Aria’s jaw dropped in surprise.

‘’What ? But… but…’’ Her mind was thinking at top speed and she was trying to find a way to make him forgot this idea. _How can I try to contact Loki if I am constantly under FRIDAY’s monitoring ?_ ‘’…But I need my privacy! I had a flatmate! I can’t simply let him down because you ask me too.’’ Aria felt a twinge at her heart at that last thought. _It is been almost ten days since I am missing. Tom must be panicked. I should call him as soon as possible._ ‘’I also already paid my rent for the next three months, Stark!’’

Tony sighed, but did not seem to want to give up his idea.

‘’Aria, I do understand you want to be living on your own, but my priority is your security right now. I will repay you what you paid for the rent. And, for your flatmate, well, he can come live her too for what I care. Hell, you’ve just been abducted by some alien maniac and you expect me to let you go freely without any security so he can come back for you?’’ Stark said.

‘’Pay attention to your words, Stark, he is my brother,’’ said Thor, as a warning to Tony. However, he seemed to ignore him completely and kept his gaze on Aria, waiting from an answer.

_‘’Accept.’’_

Aria stumbled on her feet as this silky voice from her inside her head spoke the word. _Loki_. _Loki is communicating with me. God, I feel like I have just got out of some epic roller coaster._ Somehow, the mental intrusion made her dizzy and weak. Aria took a few steps back, like she was going to fall, but Bucky caught her and put one arm around her so she could rest on him. Like previously, she tensed up  at is contact, but was still too weak to take off his arm. _Why can’t I just be comfortable around him? Why do I have to feel a repulsion towards him after all the good times we had together?_

‘’Are you ok?’’ Bucky said, worried. Everybody else was looking at her like they did not know what to think of the situation.

‘’Yes, yes, I am ok,’’ Aria said, hoping that he would distance himself. _I am really ok, the feeling did not lasted long._ Aria could feel that her dizziness was going away. She saw that he was still looking at her in worry and that he had not move. ‘’Ok, Bucky, I don’t need your help,’’ Aria said, a bit harshly, while abruptly taking off Bucky’s arm from her shoulder.

This time, he took it worse than the last time she tensed at his touch. Bucky looked at her, confused, his eyebrows frowned. _He seems hurt._ _Why am I such a bitch with him?_ He started to walk away, his nose pointing at the floor, frustrated.

‘’Wait, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-‘’ Aria tried to explain. He turned his head to her and looked slightly angry. _I am making poor decisions today._

‘’You didn’t mean to what? Reject me when I am only trying to help you?’’ said Bucky, interrupting her.

Aria did not respond. She did not know what to say because it was actually what he was saying. _I am rejecting without any reason._

Observing her muteness, Bucky continued walking away, breathing loudly in frustration.

Tony, Thor and Bruce were still looking at her, not talking. _They must be so uncomfortable._ Fortunately, she was not anymore stumbling on her feet and she felt the strength to continue her conversation with Tony as if nothing happened.

‘’I will live here, Stark, if you want me this much to.’’

Tony’s face suddenly enlightened and he put both of his hands on his hips in satisfaction.

‘’Great!’’ he said, smiling. ‘’Well then, I’ll ask FRIDAY to prepare your rooms and it should be ready in a matter of hours! Why don’t you go pick up your stuff at your apartment during this period?’’

‘’I will come with you to help,’’ Bruce added, also smiling.

Aria felt like this was not her choice at all, but nodded in agreement, not wanting to damage their mood.

_\------------------_

Aria’s apartment was only a few miles away, so the car ride was not long and Bruce and her barely spoke. She felt that he wanted to question her, to ask her what happened during those few days with Loki, but that he restrained himself. _Maybe he believes that I lived through such horrible things that could not talk about it without crying. Oh god, if he knew._ She felt bad for him, for Bucky, for Stark, even for Thor, who were truly good people, just wanting to help.

 _I am doing this for Jake._ She repeated her new mantra, feeling the culpability eating her. _I am doing this for Jake._

They arrived in front of her building and both got out of the car.

‘’So, you have a roommate, you said?’’ Bruce asked as they were arriving at the front door.

‘’Yes, Tom. He is one of my best friend, I am quite sad of abandoning him,’’ she responded as she unlocked the front door and proceed to walk up the stairs.

‘’Just tell him to come and live at the facility, like Tony proposed! It will be like nothing happened,’’ Bruce said.

Aria tensed and felt irritated at Bruce’s comment. _Like nothing happened!? What, he thinks that I went to a fucking picnic?_

‘’Bruce, it won’t be like nothing happened. It won’t _ever_ be like nothing happened. I have been _kidnapped_ by this… evil sorcerer… and I have stayed with him with twelve days. Twelve days where I have been manipulated, hurt and isolated from the real world.’’ As Aria said those words, she had stopped in the stairs and was facing Bruce.

_Maybe I exaggerated. It was not that worse. It was even nice at some point. However, everyone needs to believe that I absolutely dislike him, so they don’t suspect anything._

To her surprise, Bruce’s stern face didn’t change.

‘’It could have been more you know. If it wouldn’t have been of Tony.’’ Bruce said.

Now, Aria was definitely angry. _I tell him what I had to go through and he just tells me that ‘’it could have been more’’? What an arrogant bitch._

‘’I will pick up my stuff alone Bruce you can leave,’’ she said, not wanting to display emotions, as she continued up the stairs.

‘’Wait, Aria. I didn’t mean to be harsh, I just wanted you to know that Tony got really involved into retrieving you and that if he did not think to check your accounts, you would still be with Loki.’’ Bruce said.

Aria stopped again in the stairs and turned to face Bruce.

‘’What? My accounts?’’ Aria asked in confusion.

‘’Yeah, you know, you logged into your Netflix account so we could find you, remember? By the way, it was smart of you, and I still have no idea how you could do that.’’

Sudden realization hit Aria. _I. Am. Such. An. Idiot. How could I forget that logging into one of my account could lead them to discovering the IP address I was on?!_

Observing that Bruce was intently looking at her, probably waiting for her confirmation that she had done that on purpose, she improvised an answer.

‘’Yeah… I, I found this old computer in the room I was kept him and I found a way to reboot it and to connect it to a local WIFI. I told Loki that I just wanted to watch a movie to pass time and that’s how I logged into my Netflix account.’’

_This is officially the worst excuse ever. Tony will want to have more details about this, I am in some deep shiiit._

Bruce nodded, but Aria saw in his face that he found her explanation quite weird.

‘’And, about Tom living at the compound, he would never accept.’’ Aria continued as she finally walked the steps left to her apartment.

‘’Why?’’ asked Bruce, following her even if she had previously told him not to.

‘’Well, because, he like to have his own independence,’’ she said, believing it explained everything.

Aria finally unlocked the door to her apartment. She did not have time to look at her surroundings as a man jumped to her, surrounding her with her arms.

‘’ARIA! WHERE WERE YOU? I WAS SO WORRIED, OH MY FUCKING GOD, I CALLED THE POLICE AND-‘’

‘’You called the _police?’’_ Aria said, while returning the hug, hoping that her friend would calm down a bit.

‘’You didn’t answer my messages!’’ he said, grabbing both of her shoulders and shaking her a little bit, like testing if she was really there. ‘’You were gone for almost two bloody weeks!’’

‘’I am sorry Tom, I am so, so sorry,’’ she said, sad to see him so emotionally hurt.

She hugged him again and he hugged back. They were quiet for a few seconds, just happy to have found back each other. She felt his beard scratch lightly her forehead, as he was taller than her. Aria then remembered Bruce, who was probably still waiting outside the apartment and she let Tom go. She made a sign to Bruce to come in, who was in fact still waiting at the doorstep.

‘’Tom, this is Bruce, he is here to help me pack up my things. I have to move.’’ Aria finally said. She did not want to tell him too much, so he could be the less implicated as possible.

Tom gave a look at Bruce, but quickly turned back to her in astonishment.

‘’What do you mean? Are you going to tell me what happened?’’ Tom then observed Bruce a few more seconds. ‘’I know this guy! He is an Avenger, isn’t he? He is the doctor you were working with? You are going to move with them? Why would you do that?! You couldn’t stop saying that living on your own with me was the best decision you ever made!’’

_Quite acute._

Tom truly seemed confused and slightly frustrated as he went question after question, not letting her time to reply. He went silent for a moment, expecting an answer, and Aria tried explaining to him the best as she could without letting slip too much.

‘’Something happened when I was working with Bruce at the lab. Something that I can’t reveal to you right now,’’ Aria started to say.

‘’It’s classified,’’ Bruce added, his lips in a thin line. In fact, the identity of the responsible of New York’s battle was kept hidden from the public. The government did not wanted the world to know that someone responsible of crimes against humanity had not faced the Earth’s justice.

‘’Yeah, as he said, classified,’’ Aria continued. ‘’And the very thing that happened in the lab requires me to get maximum protection. That’s why I am moving in the Avengers facility, which is where Bruce’s lab is. To get maximum protection. They’ll protect me.’’

Tom seemed even more confused, if it was possible. He only knew that she was in a lab with a doctor, and now he was learning that she needed _to be protected?_

‘’I could have protected you,’’ Tom said, foolishly.

Aria saw that he was hurt. _Does he really believe that he could do the same job as the Avengers?_

‘’You know, hum, Tom,’’ Bruce said, suddenly. Both Aria and Tom turned to him, like he was interrupting something. ‘’There is way for you to know what really happened _and_ to live with her. Just move in the Avengers compound you too!’’

_OH MY GOD, Bruce, I just told you that he would not accept, can’t you listen to me?_

‘’You, you would accept that a civilian like me lives there too? Because, I am moving without hesitation if the answer is yes,’’ Tom replied, a smile emerging on his lips.

_Tom REALLY wants to know what happened apparently._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You *may* find some resemblances with Tom Hiddleston through the story. ;)


	7. Doing this for Jake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!  
> No idea if someone's actually reading this but enjoy!

_In the last chapter…_

‘’From now, you will be living her, in the compound.’’ Aria’s jaw dropped in surprise.

[…]

‘’You, you would accept that a civilian like me lives there too? Because, I am moving without hesitation if the answer is yes,’’ Tom replied, a smile emerging on his lips.

_Tom REALLY wants to know what happened apparently._

* * *

 

**_Two days earlier_ **

‘’No, this isn’t a damn bracelet, this is a _telepathic chain,_ ’’ Loki said, exasperated, as they were facing each other.

‘’But this chain _is a_ _bracelet._ Why would it matter if I called it a bracelet?’’ Aria replied, as Loki was attaching the chain around her wrist. It was nothing ostentatious, just a small metallic chain with green highlights with a small medallion with a strange symbol engraved on it. Aria was sure to have seen it somewhere, maybe in some movie. It was hard to describe. It looked like a flower for her, but also like one of those optical illusion where you follow one line of the drawing to realize to realize that the image is, in fact only one line.

‘’It was made by Asgardians, and Asgardians decided to call it a _telepathic chain_. You can’t decide to change its name because you want to, mortal.’’

_So, he came back with calling me mortal?_

‘’Well, E.T., explain to me again why this _bracelet_ is so important?’’

He did not seem to understand the reference and tensed one more time hearing the world bracelet. It made Aria laughed to see him so obsessed with just a name.

‘’And by the way, this is a nice _bracelet_ , it does not look like any other _bracelet_ I have, do you have a _bracelet_ yourself?’’ said in mockery, putting both of my hands on my hips. _I really hope I haven’t pushed it too far._

 He evidently tried to keep his face stern, but his mouth was twitching. He finally half-smile, to Aria’s surprise, who thought he was going for a sudden bad mood swing.

‘’Just call it whatever you want.’’

‘’Whatever I want? Then, can I call it, _magical extraterrestrial telepathic awesome gadget_?’’ Aria said, restraining herself from laughing.

Loki rose his eyebrows. ‘’That is a bit long,’’ he said.

‘’Well, it is only going to be the ‘’MATAG’’!’’ replied Aria, this time laughing out loud.

Loki was still looking at her, not accompanying her in her laugh, but smiling at her sight.

‘’So what does the MATAG do?’’ Aria reasked, now calmer.

‘’It will permit us to talk telepathically even if we are miles apart. In fact, with this telepathic chain-‘’

‘’MATAG, but yeah-‘’

‘’…with this telepathic chain, you can use your telepathy on people really far from you, if you already talked to them, and only one person at the time.’’

‘’Wow, you do have some cool magic, you, Asgardians.’’ Aria said, smiling.

‘’I am not Asgardian,’’ Loki darkly said.

‘’What do you mean?’’ Aria said.

_This man wears a mask. The mask of an Halloween monster. He ‘’thinks’’ he wants to conceal his emotions. But he let them slip to many times, this is just a call for help. He wants someone to be interested in him, he wants to be listened._

But apparently, he did not want to be listened that much.

‘’Try your telepathic chain tonight. Goodnight,’’ he said, quitting the room.

She did not try her MATAG that night. She could not stop thinking about him, thinking about what monstrosities he probably had to go through to become the person he was.

_\------------------_

**_Present_ **

‘’I am glad that you accepted to live here, Tom! It will do well on everybody to have someone new to talk too,’’ Tony said, smiling, while guiding Aria and Tom through the facility’s hallways.

‘’Well, it will do well on me too! Also, thank you so much Mr. Stark for offering me this job at security-‘’ Tom started.

‘’Ah, no need to thank me! We really needed someone, and your resume indicated what we were looking for. And call me Tony.’’ Tony stopped when the three of them reach a huge room, with a kitchen on one side and a big living room on the other. There was a young woman that Aria had never seen before sitting on a lazy boy, reading a book.

‘’So, kids, this is the common room. The other on the team chill out here when they are not on missions. So feel free to come here anytime.’’ Tony said.

The woman rose her head from her book and smiled to them.

‘’New people on the team, Tony?’’ she asked, playfully.

‘’Actually, hum, they are here for…’’ Tony looked at them, like searching for the best lie in their face. ‘’They are here to work in the lab! With Bruce! On telepathy!’’

_Why does he have to lie? I thought Avengers knew the whole Loki attacked New York thing. Why would he hide the fact that I just need protection until they got him back?_

Aria saw in Tom’s frowning that he also seemed confused by Tony’s lie. He however stayed quiet.

‘’Her name’s Wanda, kids. And, Wanda, this is Aria and Tom,’’ Tony introduced. She nodded and Tom and Aria responded the same way, before continuing to follow Tony. They arrived in a long hallway with many doors on each side, just like a hotel hallway. They continued to the end of the hallway and Tony stopped.

‘’Sooo this hallway is a dead end with this cute balcony on the extremity,’’ Tony said, while pointing the glass door at the end of the hallway. ‘’And those,’’ he pointed at two doors, one on the right and one on the left, ‘’are your rooms. They are the exact same, feel free to decorate. There are a bed, a desk, a table with chairs, an individual fridge and a small living room side. I would stay with you longer, but Steve is waiting for me, so if you need anything just ask FRIDAY. Oh, and, your stuff is already in your room, someone of the staff already brought them.’’

‘’Okay, well thank you again, Tony,’’ Tom said, politely, with his naïve smile. Aria stayed quiet, not as grateful as her friend. _My situation haven’t changed. I am still a prisoner._

‘’Oh, and Aria,’’ said Tony facing her, ‘’I want you in my office tomorrow morning. To talk about…’’ he glanced at Tom before continuing, ‘’…to talk about a project.’’

_Still more lies. He probably just wants to know what kind of shit Loki has been doing to me._

Aria nodded in acknowledgement and Tony quitted them. Tom turned to Aria.

‘’So he said our stuff is in our room? Let’s check whose stuff is in this one first he said while opening the one on the right,’’ he said.

It was a contemporary style room with white walls and a white bed.

_Just like when I woke up twelve days ago._

She took a step back after entering the room, in surprise. It reminded her of that first day with Loki, where he had choked her, hit her, tied her. Where he had hurt her. She felt suddenly dizzy and stayed paralyzed on the doorstep.

_How could I ever feel… sympathy… for him… for a monster… How could I agreed to his plan after he physically and verbally hurt me. How could I betray my friends in such in a horrible way? Does this… does this makes me just like him?_

At this point, Aria was on the edge of crying.

‘’That’s a nice room, isn’t it?’’ He turned to her, waiting for an answer, but immediately realized something was not okay. ‘’Aria? What’s happening?’’

Being asked ‘’what’s happening?’’ or ‘’are you okay?’’ always had this effect on her. Somehow, it made her feel even worse than she was before and it made her explode in tears.

As soon as she started crying, Tom took her into his arms.

‘’Hey, hey, shhhh, it’s okay Ari, just tell me what’s wrong.’’

Aria told him everything. Well almost everything. From the part where she was serenely talking with Bruce and Vision, to the kidnapping. She had to explained who Loki was, because, like every other civilian, he had no idea who he was. He seemed repulsed by him as she told Tom how he had tried to enslave the human race. Then, she explained how she woke up in this _horrible_ white room, how he called her mortal, how he strangled, hit and threatened her with his knife. She was about to spill out the part about reviving her brother but she stopped. _I am still doing this for Jake. Tom must not be aware that Loki wants me to help me stealing the infinity stones if I want to see my brother again._ She made up an excuse for him keeping her. She said that he wanted to have her as her ransom for an infinity stone. ‘’It’s some powerful magical object that everyone wants. There are 6,’’ she explained briefly. Then she explained how they moved extremely near to the Avengers facility. At first, she also wanted to skip the kiss part. But as she continued talking, she could not help it. She needed to let someone know. ‘’We talked. I told him a bit about me, he told me a bit about him. And, and, we, we did something, something that we should not have done…’’ Tom has stayed silent during the whole monologue, but he seemed worried. ‘’We kissed-,’’ she said, looking at Tom, expecting a reaction. He, in fact, did react. ‘’What? I mean, what? Out of sudden, you just kissed that man, that same man you hated days ago and that you still hate today? What is happening? Is this some Stockholm Syndrome or some shit like this?’’ Tom said, obviously lost in a mix of confusion, frustration and exasperation. ‘’Oh, god, I don’t know Tom, that’s what I am trying to tell you! It is horrible, horrible how I could kiss a man who destroyed so many lives. I regret it, maybe he manipulated me or something like that.’’ _But I am pretty sure he didn’t._ ‘’I am sorry, I shouldn’t have been so… judgmental with you. If he manipulated you well… oh, I am so sorry, I shouldn’t have said that, you’ve gone through such horrible things.’’ He seemed truly sad and repentant and Aria could not help but forgive her best friend, even if she thought, deep inside of her, that, maybe, he was right. She felt bad lying to him, but her mantra kept her on her fixed to her goal. _I am doing this for Jake._

Aria finished her story with how the Avengers found them, telling him the same lie about Netflix she said to Bruce. They were now sitting on the couch and she stayed in his arms a few more minutes, comfortable. After they saw the blue suitcase belonging to her in a corner, indicating that it was her room, he left as she claimed she needed some time alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is quite fast-paced, but that's how I like to write them. I know this isn't the best as my english vocabulary is not vast, but I hope you've seen an improvement in the last chapters!  
> Leave a comment to let me know what you think about it, it is very encouraging!


	8. Tony Stark is not Sherlock Holmes

_In the last chapter…_

They were now sitting on the couch and she stayed in his arms a few more minutes, comfortable. After they saw the blue suitcase belonging to her in a corner, indicating that it was her room, he left as she claimed she needed some time alone.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_‘’Aria’’_

Aria woke up suddenly. She sat up looked around in the darkness of her room searching for the person who had just talked to her but found no one. It felt like Loki’s voice. She lied back down, taking a deep breath. _Now I am hallucinating._

_‘’Did you already forget about that damned telepathic chain?’’_

_Oh so it is Loki._ Aria remembered her MATAG. She also remembered how, the day before, a voice in her head told her to ‘’accept’’ and how she nearly fainted.

‘’ _Oh, what a good moment to contact me, it’s 3 am,’’_ Aria tried to respond, looking at her alarm clock. ‘’ _You almost killed me yesterday, you know that?’’_

 _‘’You don’t remember either when I told you to test your chain when we were still in the shelter to prevent incident like that but you did not listen to me because you are a stubborn and arrogant human?’’_ Loki responded, still in her head.

 _Whoops_.

 _‘’Oh. Ok.’’_ Aria answered. She could almost see his snobbish grin of contentment he always got when he proved her wrong.

‘’ _I want you to meet me tomorrow morning,’’_ Loki continued.

_‘’Already have to meet Stark tomorrow morning.’’_

_‘’Well, after, I don’t care, just alert me before.’’_

_‘’Where?’’_

_‘’In a small café. I believed it’s called something like_ Le noisetier. _You told me you liked that place didn’t you?’’_

_‘’Yeah, yeah, I did, but if anybody who has any links to the government sees you with me, I am done. We can’t just go, to a café and expect nobody to follow me just in case.’’_

_‘’Oh well, I am just gonna make up something. I will wear a red tie. You will recognize me.’’_

_‘’Why don’t you just tell me right now what’s the plan?’’_ Aria asked.

‘’ _Because, as you will probably realize soon, this form of telepathy gets you tired quickly. Goodbye, Aria. Think about Jake when you will meet Stark tomorrow._

And he was gone.

_Such a fucking manipulator. Just a way to feel superior to say that he needs me._

_\------------------_

‘’Aaaah! Aria! I was waiting for you!’’ Stark said as the woman entered her office after knocking. Aria smiled and approached his desk.

‘’Sit down, make yourself comfortable. Want a coffee?’’ he asked, getting his own at his coffee machine.

‘’No thanks, Tony,’’ Aria said, wanting the meeting as short a possible.

Stark took his now full mug from the coffee machine and sat lazily in front of her.

‘’So. What do you think about Stark tower? Did you explore? Does it fit your taste?’’ he said, playfully.

‘’Well, I used to work here so I already know the place a little bit. And the room is perfect, thank you. Wanda showed me the gym this morning, it is astonishingly big. I really like it.’’ Aria said, gratefully, even if she truly missed her old apartment.

‘’I am happy that you like it! You will have plenty of time to use it.’’

Stark made a pause, like he was obligatorily getting into the topic he did not want to talk about.

‘’Aria, I know it is tough, but you need to tell me what happened in those few days you were with Loki. And, also, I want you to know that what happened is classified for most people here, that is why I did not tell Wanda the other day. I don’t want them to know that Loki’s still alive. It could revive a traumatism for some of them.’’

_Kinda funny how everyone is afraid of this asshole._

‘’I, well, I... it is a long story...’’

She started to tell him the same story she had just told Tom. She passed the kiss section without making it incoherent and the whole story seemed believable from her point of view. _I shouldn’t even have told Tom about the kiss._

When she had finished, Stark looked at her with empathy. _He believes me._

‘’The only thing I don’t understand is why he kept you. I know you said you were supposed to be a ransom, but, I mean, you are not an Avenger. I don’t want to lower your importance, but any other civilian could have been taken,’’ He asked, in doubt.

‘’He thought I was an Avenger!’’ Aria said. _In fact, it is absolutely true._

‘’Yeah. Ok then.’’

He made a pause and looked at Aria, like searching a lie in her eyes. Aria stood up, understanding it was finished.

‘’Oh and Aria, you will continue to work with Bruce in the lab. Nothing changed in your contract. You start tomorrow if it is at your convenience. Today, relax, stay at the tower, watch a movie with Tom,’’ he added with a smile.

Aria felt a gulp go down her throat at the mention of _her damned contract_.

‘’Yeah, that is what I thought.’’ Aria answered.

She waved at him and quickly exited his office.

_I hope so fucking much he believed me._

_\------------------_

Aria arrived at _Le noisetier_ a little past noon. As soon as she arrived, she sat at the only free table she could find, a small two places next to a window. The place was fuller and louder than usual.

 _‘’I’m there’’_ send Aria to Loki. _‘’I’m sitting in the corner with windows.’’_

 _‘’Should be there in a few minutes,’’_ Loki answered quickly.

_This MATAG thing is some efficient shit._

Aria ordered a French vanilla coffee and waited, looking at her surroundings. The place was warm and cozy, the decorations a bit Starbucks-like. It was from far her favorite café. She started coming here with her father when she was a young child. He took her there after work, where he used to read a newspaper while she was drinking hot chocolate. When her drink was finished, she used to take out a book, and read, in a comfortable silence, next to her dad. _The good old days._

Her drink arrived and still no Loki. Aria started to look around, and her look stopped on someone who was clearly not at the right time at the right place.

_Darcy. What are the fucking odds of you here._

Apparently, Darcy had also seen her. Her face was illuminated and she waved repeatedly at her. Aria waved back with a small smile, praying that her old university friend would not come and sit with her. As Aria saw her slowly standing up from the bar portion of the café, she sighed in exasperation. _I don’t want Loki to see her. She does not have to be involved in this._

Darcy finally came to her table, her smile to her ears.

‘’Ari!’’ she said, excited, opening her arms.

‘’Darcy!’’ Aria answered, hugging her back, concealing her anxiety behind a mask of happiness.

‘’It’s been, I don’t know, maybe six or seven since we haven’t seen each other! I missed you so much! Were you waiting for someone ? Can I sit here?’’

‘’Actually, Darcy, I was, in fact, waiting for someone,’’ Aria said, simulating a ‘’that’s such a shame’’ face.

‘’Tell me it was not that pretty boy behind you,’’ Darcy said, looking behind Aria, biting her lips.

‘’What are you even talking about-

Aria looked behind her and saw a red tie around the neck of a tall brown-haired young man who seemed boringly normal.

‘’Oh yeah, it is him. It is a friend from work. I’ll call later Darcy, ok?’’

Darcy nodded, winking to her and laughing softly. She finally walked back to her stool at the bar. The red-tie man approach and sat with her at her table without a word. It was so strange for Aria. It felt like she was sitting with a stranger.

‘’For sake, I have been waiting for ages for the mortal to go away,’’ Loki finally said. The stranger image was already gone and she found back the _asshole_.

‘’You are such an arrogant little shit, Loki.’’ Aria answered.

‘’At least call me something else if you don’t want my coverage to go away.’’

‘’Fine. I am gonna call you lil shit. God, it sounds like a rapper name.’’

They both came back to silence.

‘’I have to tell you that your favorite place is very much noisy.’’ Loki said.

It was true. The place was crowded and people were almost screaming at each other. Aria shrugged and looked away.

‘’So. What do we do now?’’ Aria asked.

Loki seemed to be about to answer when a scream interrupted them.

‘’EVERYONE, SHUT UP NOW!’’

The place went silent in an instant. Absolutely silent. Nobody was talking and everybody was acting like nothing happened. _What the hell did happened?_ Loki and Aria looked at each other interrogation. _Why is everybody obeying like that?_

‘’What the fuck, who said that? ’’Aria asked soflty, for herself.

A man in some expensive purple suit turned around slowly, facing them. He had short brown hair and looked like a spoiled brat.

‘’Shut up, you naive girl,’’ the man repeated, his look like dagger into Aria’s eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may noticed I just finished Jessica Jones


	9. Four days of inception

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what's up bros  
> please comment, it would make me happy and would help me improve.
> 
> And I do realize that it is obvious that I am Frenchie with my writing.

_In the last chapter…_

‘’EVERYONE, SHUT UP NOW!’’

The place went silent in an instant. Absolutely silent. Nobody was talking and everybody was acting like nothing happened. _What the hell did happened?_ Loki and Aria looked at each other interrogation. _Why is everybody obeying like that?_

[...]

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_Who is this man?_

Aria felt Loki’s hand touching lightly her right hand and she looked at him. His eyes were like a warning and he put a finger to his lips, gesturing her to keep silence. She came back to her coffee and took a sip quietly, exchanging gazes with Loki.

 _‘’Can you explain to me what happened?’’_ Aria ask to Loki, telepathically.

He did not respond to her right away and his eyes were moving fast, like he was thinking quickly.

 _‘’What are the odds of, not one, but TWO mind controllers in a 5 miles radius?’’_ Loki finally answered, looking up to her.

 _‘’You think that this man... is like me?’’_ Aria asked.

_‘’Probably. And we are the only one who are not under his control due to our abilities.’’_

_Another mind controller. Wow. Quite unexpected. I feel grateful for the Game of Throne wall I built before coming here._

_And this one, on the opposite of me, is clearly not afraid to use his abilities._

_‘’So, what do we do?’’_ Aria said. She was starting to feel an itch in her throat that almost made her cough. She stopped herself right on time so that the man in the suit was not warned that they were not under his mind control.

 _‘’We just exit the place quietly, okay?’’_ Loki asked.

Aria nodded. She gave a look at Darcy, at the other side of the café, reading a book in silence, like nothing ever happened. _I swear, I’m gonna call her_ _to go eat sushis or something._

 _‘’Stand up first,’’_ Loki added.

She nodded again, and, slowly push back her chair to stand up. She got up from her chair, then walked to the exit only to bump into a silent waiter transporting a tray of coffees. The tray fell on her in a hubbub and five big mugs full of boiling coffee started to smear her light white blouse, burning raw her flesh.

‘’Arghh!!’’ Aria shrieked. She breathed heavily, starting to take off her blouse so it did not stick on her burned chest.

Loki also stood up, ran to her and gave her his coat to wipe off the hot liquid. _I’m so fucking clumsy, damn._

_Exiting quietly was an enormous failure._

Aria gave a look to the strange man they were trying to escape and found him watching them, his eyebrows frowned and his face showing a mix of exasperation and anger. She grasped Loki’s arms to make him stop wiping the coffee. He looked at the man in the suit, looked at Aria and finally took her arm to guide her to the exit.

‘’Wait. Stay,’’ the telepath man said.

That is when Loki started running. He made sure she followed him and started to travel full pace the 10 meters that were still separating them from the door.

‘’All of you. Block the door.’’ the man said, standing up.

Suddenly, everybody in the café stood up and proceeded to stand in front of the entrance door, in front of Loki and her. Aria could not believe it. Her jaw fell, even if she was not a stranger to this kind of phenomenon. _This man is... powerful. He is just like me._ A small idea started to germ in Aria’s mind while she was thinking. _Maybe... Maybe he knows how he got his powers. Maybe he could enlighten me about how I got mine._ Loki, who seemed more in control of his emotions than she did, turned to the strange man and talked calmly.

‘’ A few hypnotized mortals won’t stop us from getting away. ‘’ Loki then started pushing the people away like they were pawns on a chess game.

The man smirked and started standing up.

‘’You,’’ he said, while pointing his finger to one of the man, a particularly well build-up one, who was standing in front of the door, ‘’Knock out the girl.’’

_Wait. What?_

Aria only saw Loki turn to her before everything came black.

_\------------------_

_I hate this new habit I have of waking up in places I don’t remember._

_My head hurts like hell. That guy hit me harder than necessary._

Black dots were filling her vision and a light nausea was taking force upon her. She was lying somewhere hard and cold and decided not to move for the moment. She was hearing what seem like motor and was feeling the bumping of a road.

_I am in a car._

_Am I getting kidnapped again?_

_Wow, I think I have just been kidnapped while I was kidnapped; no joke, this is maybe some_ Guinness World Record _shit. Or a kidnapception._

_Where is Loki?_

Aria tried slowly to focus her vision. After a few minutes, she saw unclearly a tall figure kneeling next to her.

‘’Loki?...’’ she said, weakly.

The person did not answer and she fell back into unconsciousness.

_\------------------_

The next time Aria woke up, she could recognized her surroundings. She was in her new room at Stark tower, laying on the large bed under covers. The alarm clock next to her indicated 9 AM. She felt better than the last time she came back to consciousness. She pushed off the covers and sat on the bed, slowly, testing her soreness. _Not so worst._ She took a sip of the glass of water resting on her night stand and took a deep breath, thinking. Memories of the café flashed back in and she asked herself where was Loki now. _He probably escaped when I was knocked out. That is what I would have done I was him._ She remembered the mysterious car and could not help but believe that the man, the strange telepath man, had took her for whatever reasons. In fact, she surprised herself to think that she would have liked to have a conversation with the man. She used to believe that no one like her existed. Maybe the man could have been helpful to make her discover where her powers where from. Maybe, they both got their powers the same way. She pushed the thought away, telling to herself that it was probably better that she never saw this megalomaniac man again. After all, she had already Loki to deal with.

She finally stood up and checked her phone, which was also on the night stand, and checked the date. _It’s been four days since the café events. FOUR FUCKING DAYS. What have I been doing, for God’s sake? I have to ask Loki._

She had no messages, except one from Darcy, asking to go out the next Friday, like nothing ever happened the last time they did see each other. Aria checked her wrist and realized her MATAG, the telepathic chain Loki gave her, was gone. Her heartbeat sped up when she realized she had lost the only thing that attached her to him and she started to search frantically for it under the bed and in the different drawers, leaving the room in a total mess.

A light knock was made on the door when Aria was starting her second search in the drawers. She stopped and, before she had time to open the door, the person entered, revealing a pretty face she knew so well.

‘’Tom!’’ she said, embracing him. He hugged her back and sighed contently.

‘’Happy to see you’re back with us Aria. I did not know you had woken up.’’ He said, smiling.

They stayed in the arms of each other for a few more seconds before Aria broke the hug and looked at him with a serious look.

‘’Do you... Do you know what happened to me?’’ she asked.

_Obviously, he does not know about the Loki part, but maybe he can enlighten me on the rest._

‘’So... Yeah. I know a bit, but probably not everything. There was a fight at the café you were meeting Darcy...’’

_Who made up that lie? Loki? Like, what, you really believe there could be a fight in freaking CAFÉ?_

‘’... And it looks like you received a powerful hit to your head. So, I don’t know if you remember, but we were said that you went to the bathroom to put water on your wound afterwards, and that you had fainted there, hitting your head even harder with the sink.’’ he said, slowly.

Aria touched her forehead, searching a wound and found, in fact, a long cut stitched up.

‘’And I stayed there for four days? FOUR DAYS?’’ she asked, asking herself how anyone could ever believe this.

‘’Sadly, yes. The café was closed after the incident, so nobody went back there.’’

‘’Who told you that?’’

‘’The café owner, so we are pretty sure those are legit infos. It is also him who found you and brought you to the hospital. The hospital called me, as I am the one to contact in case of emergency in your file. I told Stark and he brought you back from the hospital a few hours later. This was yesterday. I wonder why he did not let you stay at the hospital, but, you know, Stark is Stark.’’

‘’I see.’’ she answered, scratching her forehead.

_What is true in this? Obviously, I have not been unconscious for four days, otherwise my muscles would be much more sore._ _I have been awake during those four days. What happened after the telepath guy made another guy hit me? I can’t remember anything..._

_But if Stark did not kept me at the hospital, it is probably because he did not want the doctors to brain scan me and discover that something isn’t normal with my meninges, that I am a telepath. So, the hospital part must be true._

‘’Where you searching for something?’’ Tom said, looking around. ‘’This place is mess.’’

‘’No, haha. I am just messy.’’ she answered.

Tom eyed her suspiciously, knowing very well she was not the kind of girl to be ‘’messy’’, but came back to his normal self a moment after.

She chatted a little with Tom, and then went to the common room with him. The other people present asked how she was doing and talked a little bit with her about her ‘’misadventure’’. They all seem to genuinely think a fight had happened in café, which astonished Aria. _Stark won’t be so naive. He will want to know what happened. If only I could tell him..._

Only one person could tell her what happened.

Loki.

And maybe this strange telepath.


End file.
